Performance
by Sohmachi
Summary: That street rat could still remember her favorite color. He could even remember her last name, the one that the whole world didn't know. Duo knew the one that she rejected years ago. Maxwell. FINISHED! APPENDIX ADDED FOR LOST SOULS!
1. Teach Me To Dance

Title: Performance  
  
Type: Original character mixed with Duo from Gundam Wing. Years after G- boys save the earth, Duo is now back in America where he wishes to return to a normal life. He stalks his first love.  
  
==  
  
Duo Maxwell watched her body as she twisted and rocked along the stage. Her eyes burned with a flaming sensation as she began to blurt out her most famous song. Yet, he stuck to his mask. The one he was trained to use, his poker face, the street rat.  
  
I still believe  
In fairies and the trial of the moon  
And the moonlight's failing  
And I love with the heart  
Of the pail moon sailing gone around in one part  
  
Her body swayed with the wind and the flame in her eyes was suddenly gone, bubbles began to emit from the mist from backstage. Within an instant her once red orange eyes burned blue, but the music stayed the same.  
  
On the fairy island  
In the middle of the lake  
Lies a lonely women damned until the next day  
Still she waits for the man that promised a ring  
And her heart left foot steps on the shore  
  
The street rat began to smile, swaying out of character for the time record of twenty seconds. She lifted her hand before her face and stayed in poise for five seconds. With the blink of the studio lights, her outfit changed, revealing lilac and green flames. He whispered, then music shifted this time, into a stained lullaby.  
  
Forever gone the hero's wake  
A Gundam lies within the stake  
The Lord of Darkness still at awe  
Deems a precious, loving smile  
  
He cussed this time, she meant it for him. The end was for him, he looked up at her painted eyes as she smiled to the crowds beneath her. Suddenly, the sounds of the erupting cheers came back to him. The street rat, the gone, the childhood memory looked back upstage, where she no longer stood. Duo Maxwell's poker face was slapped to the side as faint realization hit him. She was gone, again.  
  
==  
  
As Duo climbed the stairs to the apartment he looked up the to the midnight sky. Almost wishing for his almost normal childhood. He only swallowed it and walked to his door, knocking before entering. Then, he stopped, a lonely silence drifting through the air. There was no reason to knock, because no one would answer. Frustration blew the breeze and he opened the door.  
  
As he walked in, her voice filled the empty living room from above the fireplace. He played her CD day and night, never letting it stop. That song was even his ringtone. His ringtone to a phone that no one called. Yet, he kept it, because he promised her that someday he'd pick up.  
  
Lilac and green forests.  
  
That street rat could still remember her favorite color. He could even remember her last name, the one that the whole world didn't know. Duo knew the one that she rejected years ago. Maxwell.  
  
Summon you back home.  
  
But he left and stumbled into the arms of four other teenage boys to save the world. And he did, just as everyone had hoped. Then he went back home, like it would be normal. Like he hoped it would be.  
  
Rejection is your middle name.  
  
He sipped his rum now. Straining himself to not throw it at the CD player. And just like any other desert princess, she was gone. He took one more sip, then threw it. At the fireplace.  
  
Forever stood your statue.  
  
"But only my statue." He whispered with a breath rimmed with the smell of rum.  
  
But only your statue.  
  
"My heart was bound eternally." The street rat's musky scent was no longer his own as his eyes drifted.  
  
Your heart was bound eternally.  
  
"To stone." He was in the courtyard now, laughing, standing above all the bodies, every single one marked by her face. Yet he kept laughing, for their namesake.  
  
To stone.  
  
Then violins rose against the sleepy rhythm of flutes and the song ended. As the stars wept, the street rat fell asleep, to await another day. Hoping that it would come with another round of sinful lullabies.  
  
==  
  
Notes: Well guys, tell me how you like it. Will write more after receive any reviews. If you read please review. Love to hear your feedback. 


	2. Dance With Me

Title: Performance, Chapter One, Dance With Me  
  
Summary: Reminiscing. That's pretty much it. Chapter Two will be up in about.. a few hours. Merry Christmas Everyone.  
  
Duo: *Vocals*  
  
Wufei: *Drums*  
  
Heero: *Bass*  
  
Trowa: *Flute/Backup*  
  
Quatre: *Violin*  
  
G-boys: *plays you "We Wish You A Merry Christmas"*  
  
(Does anyone want to draw me that as a gift? I'll write you a FanFic as a trade.. please tell me..)  
  
==  
  
3:35:35 am. Don't leave me wanting. 3:35:37 am. Take me somewhere. 3:35:38 am. Far, far away from this hell. 3:35:40 am. You Street Rat...  
  
The Street Rat jumped in his sleep, soon to be awoken by the river of sweat dripping and flowing in and out of his shirt. Like a Street Rat, he tore it off along with his jeans, he usually slept in his boxers.  
  
Take me home.  
  
To a place where we can roam.  
  
Just far from here.  
  
Anywhere Street Rat.  
  
3:38 am.  
  
Duo Maxwell, the pitiful Street Rat climbed out of his weak rummed nap and jumped off the couch. He looked out the window to hear the clashing of thunder and bursts of constant lightning.  
  
"Well on a happier note, there's a thunderstorm and some lighting to join along." He sighed, fighting away the urge to turn on his television; knowing there would only be more reports on her latest concert. As there always was.  
  
The lights were still out and the Poker-faced man decided not to change that. Instead, he would limp slightly into his room full of their pictures, of their poor, naïve pictures; then collapse on his bed.  
  
3:43 am.  
  
Sleep while the fairies take you in.  
  
Sirens sing your favorite Xmas tune.  
  
Sleep my hero of a Street Rat.  
  
In a fit of black and sliver.  
  
He listened to the beating of newly born raindrops. "Hey, at least somethings rushing to meet me." Reminisce.  
  
His mind automatically held a picture of Quatre, Trowa, Heero, and Wufei. That poor Street Rat couldn't help but smile. He spent a lot of his life with friends, just not the times he needed them most.  
  
Hell, he would just love to talk to any single one of the fags right now. Actually, people wearing poker-faces would love a lot of things to happen. If only the other players would play a card.  
  
3:45 am.  
  
Don't glare at me boy.  
  
Just because you're broken.  
  
Doesn't mean a thing.  
  
All he did was laugh that night. No one heard him either. No one hears a Street Rat in an alleyway cry over lost happiness. Not even the Desert Princess. None by the name of Maxwell.  
  
4:35 am.  
  
Take me back my Street Rat.  
  
Let me take you back home.  
  
Stop your dreaming.  
  
Just stop and let me take you in.  
  
The Street Rat never heard that part of the CD, he was always dreaming.  
  
Lonely. Scarred. Hoping. Lost. Broken Promises. Street Rats. Desert Princesses. Poker Faces. Molested Fates.  
  
He wished he had a deck of cards to play.  
  
6:58 am.  
  
Take me home.  
  
To a place where we can roam.  
  
Just far from here.  
  
Anywhere Street Rat.  
  
He was three minutes off schedule, or he would have been if he had one.  
  
The Street Rat sighed. Life had changed since he left the 'G-boys'. Duo was a bit famous himself, it showed for something. So he was a well-known Street Rat, with a past connected to a Desert Princess. Fuck that.  
  
He propped himself up with his elbows, still covered. The sun was rising now, it reminded him of the last time he saw a Desert Prince, a Circus Clown, a No-Named Boy, and a Boy with Black Hair.  
  
...  
  
Time: 5:27 am. Place: Space, no where specific.  
  
"So, where you headed to after this?" Duo laid back in his cockpit, feet on the controls, arms behind his head. Street Rat style.  
  
They had been drifting there for hours, for the hell of it. Spending the last few hours together, collecting their memories quietly.  
  
"Headed back home." Heero looked out his cockpit, wherever the hell that was of course.  
  
"What about the girls?" Quatre sipped his green tea. A new drink that his friends had taught him to drink. The Desert Prince let the smell echo off the cockpit walls, then took a sip, seven second intervals.  
  
Silence.  
  
"Doesn't sound like something you'd say." The Circus Clown relaxed in his Gundam, Street Rat style. Eyes, partially closed tight, but watching, like a sleeping murderer.  
  
"Not half of us." The Boy with No Name whispered under his breath, stupid enough for the others to hear.  
  
"You're right. Most of us.. Quatre you sipping something over there?...." Hum. No poker-face here, at the moment.  
  
"Green tea." He said with a content slurp, half smiling.  
  
"Hah.. figures." Duo closed his eyes, ready to take a nap.  
  
Heero's comment still hung on the breeze, a meditating Boy with Black Hair took it in and morphed it. "There's still Relena."  
  
Silence.  
  
Duo snorted. "Sally.' Wufei purred mockingly, one of those joking times. A Street Rat grinned.  
  
A heart skipped with laughter, Quatre smiled. "Cathy." A Clown answered with the click of his tongue.  
  
Heero decided to arch a brow. "Dorothy." Duo and Quatre laughed..  
  
"Would you really date her?" The Street Rat yawned questionably.  
  
"Matters how drunk he is. If he was in Japan with lots of sake. Probably." Meditate.  
  
"Either way." The Desert Prince shrugged. Another sip. "What about you Duo?"  
  
"Cheers to that." The No-Name Boy spoke up, his indigo eyes glittering with thought and question.  
  
"What about me?" Brow cocked, one sip, two purs.  
  
Quatre narrowed it down, two more sips. "Hilde."  
  
"What about her?" Three clicks, tension.  
  
"You two didn't hit it off?" Trowa's voice wasn't remote.  
  
"What was there to hit?" Lying Street Rat, no cheese.  
  
Take me far, far away from this hell.  
  
To a place of real replicas.  
  
We shall sin together.  
  
Scorpios know of our mercy.  
  
Lust will drown our voices.  
  
Heero blew an unbelieving breath. Duo's smile released. Two sips.  
  
"What about Relena?" Duo switched the haze, remotely, like a Street Rat.  
  
"What about her? Hell, what about Dorothy?" Defense.  
  
"Blonde hair. Sally's age?" Curiosity.  
  
"22. Trowa." Independent. It became a race.  
  
"Blue eyes. Hilde." Rush.  
  
"Not Hilde. She's a childhood friend. Someone else. Haven't found her yet." Loser of the race, Street Rat.  
  
You try and hide your fears.  
  
Resulting in your tears.  
  
Rejection wins the race.  
  
Another disbelieving breath, sip of tea. "What about...?"  
  
Interruption. "What about it?" Street Rat.  
  
5:45 am.  
  
Rejection is your middle name.  
  
"Well everyone, it's been nice working with you." Last click.  
  
"I bet." Duo laid back, same position, tired, but sorry they had to leave.  
  
"See you guys around." Pur. Sip. Tension. Brow. One down, three to go.  
  
Silence. Second to the final pur.  
  
Wufei flew off before saying his goodbye. Final pur. Bow. Sip. Nod. Two down, two to go.  
  
The Desert Prince finished his green tea, packed up and sat, alert as usual. "Don't go killing yourself now."  
  
Heero pressed a button, releasing all his ammo into the depth of space.  
  
Nod. Salute. Three down, one to go.  
  
"What about that self detonation button?" Need to make sure.  
  
"Will do." Appreciative silence. Understanding.  
  
"Later Duo." No tension. Content.  
  
"See ya around kid." Nod. Eyebrow.  
  
"Don't bet on it." Four gone, none to go.  
  
"Don't worry, I wont." Liar.  
  
Don't glare at me boy.  
  
Just because you're broken.  
  
Doesn't mean a thing.  
  
But that was a Street Rat's job to bet on anything possible.  
  
==  
  
Author's Note: Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter. =) It was titled Dance With Me because of the not-so-little cameo with the G-boys and how they acted. Well, Merry Christmas, Chapter Two will be up in a few minutes. Thanks for the reviews! Please read and review!!! x3. (Please comment how I portrayed the boys, really need help on that one..) 


	3. Fuck Dancing

Title: Performance, Chapter Two, Fuck Dancing  
  
Summary: Just like old times ehhh? *beckons you to read*  
  
==  
  
10: 02 am.  
  
Ring. Ring. Ring.  
  
"Duo Maxwell in the house, please leave a beep after the message."  
  
"Duo, it's me Hilde. I just wanted to drop by.. ya know. So pick up if you're there."  
  
Interest. The Street Rat picked up his phone. Cheese was on the other line, it was his calling. "Hilde?"  
  
"Hey Duo." Her voice touched a nerve on the rim of his heart. But that was a long time ago, Now was a totally different story. Breathe.  
  
"Long time no talk huh?" He cocked his brow, this would end up being interesting. She didn't respond for a long time.  
  
Silence.  
  
Roll of eyes, he could tell. That Street Rat would have known these things. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. So what's up with you?"  
  
"Huh?" Lost in silence.  
  
"I mean what's going on in your life? Girls? Jobs.. Etc. Etc?" She wanted to keep the flow of the conversation on steady, no bumps, just rapids. She shouldn't known better, he was a Street Rat.  
  
It had been two years since they had broken up. Duo licked the rim of his lips. It was almost funny to him.. no wait, it was hilarious. Silent chuckle.  
  
Silence.  
  
No tension had grown between them whatsoever, friends with benefits. Or without?  
  
Rum. "Hmm.. good question." A curved smile formed on his loving greedy lips.  
  
Roll. "Let's forget I asked then. How're the guys?"  
  
Click. He clicked his tongue against the top of his mouth. Don't know, where are those guys? Why don't you tell me? Where are those G-boys anyways? Rum.  
  
"Hell if I know." Click. Click. Rum. His breath hung with the smell of alcohol. Duo Maxwell was eighteen now, he was a Street Rat now. He was drunk now.  
  
"Hey Duo. something wrong?" Worry sunk into despair, or almost.  
  
"Mmm-Mmm.." Same tone, one steadier than the other. Nothing was wrong, just the whole picture.  
  
Duo looked up at his clock. Click. Click. Sip.  
  
Don't let the past overcome you.  
Stay the same.  
The Fairies will someday thank you.  
  
He was bored. Now. Beyond his wildest dreams. Funny really, usually he would've jumped to the phone if Hilde called. Moved a mountain. Crossed a valley. Swam across a river. Happiest man alive turned to Street Rat.  
  
Silence.  
  
"Well, I just wanted you to know. Everyone's in town and they called me up to set up a picnic or something. it's your call." He could tell he was making her uncomfortable, like a Rat going in for the kill. For some timid cheese.  
  
"Anytime, anyplace. Preferably right now." Rum..  
  
"Alright, I'll call them up we'll meet at your place." Click. No goodbye. Rush.  
  
10:37 am. Rum. Rum. Rum.  
So tell me Little Rodent..  
Tell me..  
How does this cookie crumble..  
Milk or beer Honey?  
Tell me..  
  
"Hmmm." Black. No stars. Isn't night. Murderer's eyes. Circus Clown style. Slap. Slap.  
  
"Duo! Wake up!" The Street Rat opened up his eyes onward to the face of the Desert Prince. His long braided hair sticking to his chest with sweat.  
  
"Hey kiddo." More sleep. Duo closed his eyes, not sleeping, glad the girls hadn't walked in with them. 'Looks like a pick up party to me.'  
  
Are you still alive?  
Repeat your soul and wither..  
Love me child..  
Take me..  
Far, far away from this place.  
To a place..  
That I call home.  
  
Silence. The Desert Prince touched Duo's head. No warmth, just rum.  
  
"Trowa, turn that off." Quatre pointed above the fireplace, that was all Duo knew.  
  
Lilac and green memories.  
Haunt you.  
Keep them coming Honey...  
Your beer awaits you...  
  
"NO! DON'T DO THAT DAMNIT!" He shoot up, tail on fire.. tail on fire.. whiskers have been ripped off. Get the cheese. Maze.  
  
Heero realized the behavior. "He's on drugs." The No-Named boy grabbed the Rat by the braid, pulling him towards the couch to stare into his soul. He wasn't surprised, his eyes were just openly shocked, that's all.  
  
Silence. Click. No sip, but he wished there was.  
  
Heero held him down, he didn't look up when he spoke to the Boy with Black Hair. "Go check his room Wufei." Pur with no gratitude, more annoyance. Orders are orders. He paused to get confirmation, leaning on the wall. Patience.  
  
Heat. Heat. Heat. Need to get out. Duo struggled, fighting down Heero as much as he could. Trowa rushed to his side as Quatre watched, observing. They both held him down, the Boys with No Name. Duo's screaming arched the walls painfully but there was no pain, only drive. Rum. Rum. Rum. Music. Music. Music.  
  
Don't glare at me boy.  
  
Just because you're broken.  
  
Doesn't mean a thing.  
  
He kept at his perch on the wall, impatience grazing the tips of his knuckles, breaking the silence. "What am I looking for?" The Boy with Black Hair was still the same boy the Street Rat remembered. Still sane and relaxed.  
  
Take a look at me Honey.  
The sirens are mine..  
They're never going to hurt you again..  
I'll save you Honey..  
Just watch my back.  
I'll return for you.  
  
"Powder." The Boy with No Name held him down by the wrist, his knees driving into the braided American's. His indigo eyes looked down into a sea of cobalt blue, no powder, just drive.  
  
Duo's eyes laughed. "Pictures." Poker-faced style. He immediately calmed down, almost hysterically. Calm, eyes relaxed, laying there with no sense whatsoever.  
  
Indigo eyes shot back. "What did you say?"  
  
Duo began to chuckle. There were no drugs. there were no friends. there was music. and rum. and pictures. "Open the door, find out." His eyes rolled when they moved, drunkenly. The Desert Prince pitied the poor Street Rat on the floor, but he didn't help him out of the trap. There was just no cheese.  
  
"Open the door." Click. Pur. Tension. No sip. Roll. Patience.  
  
So he did. Pictures of the girl lay sprawled along the floors and trimmed the bed in a naughty fashion. The frames had been broken, but it was the pictures that they kept. Taken, printed, then framed. Every single one, like a murderer caught in his own act, like a Street Rat, stealing some cheese.  
  
10:45 pm.  
  
Don't glare at me boy.  
  
Just because you're broken.  
  
Doesn't mean a thing.  
  
"It is too fucking early for this shit." Heero let go of the Street Rat. Spitting down a river of hate, friends did this to friends. Not to drunk Street Rats.  
  
Silence. Pur. Click.  
  
"He's under some type of influence." The Circus Clown let go of Duo's wrists with a jerk, looking down at him with daring eyes. Try me Street Rat, try me.  
  
"Obviously." Wufei looked down on his perch, eyeing the pictures from outside. The doorway looked uninviting as they circled the prisoner. Guilty before even caught. It was America.  
  
Quatre stepped out of the room, wielding a picture, date on the very bottom corner. The Desert Prince didn't shiver, quake nor tremble, he almost laughed. "It wasn't Hilde, but he did find her." He handed the picture over to Heero, almost disgusted, holding it in.  
  
The Boy with No Name sneered, disgusted. "Who is she anyways?"  
  
Sirens beckon you onward.  
Continue your journey.  
See that it fit.  
  
Silence. Roll. Laughter. No click. No pur. No sip. Just tension.  
  
Decisions, decisions. "We're tying him up. Wufei, grab the rope. Trowa, chair. Quatre, the music and the lights." Heero wanted this through and done, quick and fast, Poker-faced style. If Duo wanted to play a game, then a game he would play. They would dance.  
  
10:51 am.  
  
The Street Rat was tied to his own chair, with his own rope, in his own apartment, with his own lights shining down on him, and his own music. gone. All the shades in the house had been drawn, there was no light, besides the one above him. The sanity drove him up the walls now, he laughed and laughed and laughed, the Others surrounding him.  
  
Perch. Stand. Command. Pity.  
  
The Boy with Black Hair stood behind him (boredom), Circus Clown to his side (daring), the Desert Prince hidden in the corner (scared to move), an Indigo Eye-colored Boy standing before him (serious). Disgust.  
  
Heero held the picture in the Street Rat's face mockingly, cocking his head left and right, laughing to himself. "So who is she Duo? She a Sally? A Dorothy? A Hilde? What kind of person is this girl?" The Boy with No Name looked around, letting another take his place.  
  
But instead, Duo spoke up, willingly. "Cut the crap guys. Just get out." No one spoke, except Quatre that is.  
  
"We're just trying to help Duo. We're trying to be good friends." Tension bit his fingernails. No one spoke for a long time.  
  
Brown bit at platinum gold. Bite me Prince, bite me. "Too bad trying isn't good enough huh?"  
  
Silence. No pur. No click. No sip. Just tension.  
  
"Get out." His voice, biting at every single one of their asses mockingly, traitor. Drunk. Rum.  
  
Breathing. Four second intervals, each one. The Street Rat and the Boy With Indigo Eyes at the same pace, racing silently. Almost full of lust, but missing the key ingredient of want. War.  
  
Silence.  
  
Trowa tossed his hair to the side, not cocking a brow, daring him. "Deal."  
  
One by one, like a group of Rats they walked out. No cheese here, no use. Another Rat could bite himself out of those ropes. But only because they could, slowly but surely, they could.  
  
Silence.  
  
They left each of their scents on the walls, marking a trail on the carpet and the air. It made Duo sick, but he laughed regardless. An empty, Street Rat style laugh.  
  
His music was off. His world was ending. His hands were tied.  
  
Eighty-three seconds.  
  
His music was playing. His rum, brandy and alcohol were delicious. His hands were occupied, handling different bottles as they met.  
  
Five thousand four hundred eighty two seconds.  
  
Take me back my Street Rat.  
Let me take you back home.  
Stop your dreaming.  
Just stop and let me take you in.  
  
His world was on hold. The Street Rat was asleep.  
  
==  
  
Author's Note: So tell me how you like it!! =) This one was a lot of fun to write, very entertaining to write people's emotions in a dark and cold room. =P. Also, another thing just for the record.. five thousand four hundred and eighty two seconds is one hour and thirty one minutes (and twenty two seconds). 1:31:02. Tried to make it more interesting.. Hehehe. (Again, tell me how I portrayed their parts.. better or worse than the Second Chapter.. dum de dum?) x3. Thanks! Please.. if you READ please REVIEW! (Eighty-three is 1:23.. right?) Next chapter will be up after reviews. 


	4. Get the Steps Right

Title: Performance, Chapter Three, Get the Steps Right  
  
Summary: One word: Recovery.  
  
Notes for the Reader: I have used verbs to portray the characters; hopefully this little chart will help you to understand it a bit more.  
  
Heero: Indigo, Tension, Boy with No-Name, No-Named Boy, Command, Tap  
  
Duo: Street Rat, Laughter, Rum, Drunk, Braided American, Cobalt Blue  
  
Quatre: Platinum Blonde, Desert Prince, Greenish-Blue, Sip, (new one: Innocence or Perfect)  
  
Trowa: Circus Clown, Green-eyed, Click  
  
Wufei: Black, Boy with Black Hair, Pur, Meditate, Perch  
  
(And any other little thing that adds on somehow. ^^;)  
  
(I'll use these words to portray their bond, etc etc.. Silence. Understanding. Code. You know?)  
  
Oh yes, another thing, the word "Cheese" is used to portray Women, Sex, Clues, anything 'mysterious' if you know what I mean. Think unknown but you want it.  
  
It's actually really easy to understand after a while; hopefully you guys are okay with it! =) If you see anything that I forgot to add just email me or leave it in a review and I'll change it as quickly as possible.  
  
==  
  
The hospital clock read 8:45 pm. But he didn't trust it, it just so happened he didn't trust anything.  
  
The Street Rat didn't trust the bland walls, the perfect lighting above his head or the green and brown tiles mixed upon the floor. He didn't trust the perfect Desert Prince, he didn't dare face a green-eyed Circus Clown, he couldn't beat a meditating Boy with Black Hair, and he couldn't overrule the Boy with Indigo Eyes. Duo Maxwell was broken, poor, and friendless. like a Street Rat. Stripped.  
  
.After the dance.  
  
Heero Yuy led the way down the cheap wooden steps towards the car, not looking at the girls inside. Quatre Winner ran up to his side, knowing what they had to do.  
  
No sip, just tension. "Are we going to report him?" His Greenish-Blue eyes cautiously approaching Indigo.  
  
All four walked down the steps, slowly but surely. Heero walked down slowly, leading the way for Quatre, Wufei then Trowa, each one awaiting what to do next. Trowa already held his cell phone, reading Indigo's mind.  
  
The Circus Clown shrugged, no pointed shoulders, plain. "It's your call."  
  
Silence.  
  
Wufei looked up at the approaching storm clouds. His black eyes, rimmed with patience. As he looked up he paused, his neck muscles outstretched, blowing a slanted breath through his indifferent lips, blinking slowly but surely, rain was coming.  
  
The Boy with Platinum Blonde hair sighed, shrugging with defeat. He looked up at Heero a final time, nearly rolling his eyes but being cautious to not disrupt him. Instead, increasing the tension with a mocking blink, only blinking, Innocence.  
  
Understanding.  
  
Quatre received the signal with the blink of empty Indigo. Racing him without challenge he ran toward the car, rain following his every foot step. All the girls looking up at him questionably, Hilde's eyes glittering with worry.  
  
Cheese.  
  
The Others paused, allowing Quatre to fabricate a lying story, slowing time down to nurture the Girls' understanding. With a silent nod, it was done.  
  
Indigo turned around, not remotely, not like a Street Rat, just like a boy with his eyes would and paused, correcting the Clown. "No, you're wrong. It's your call." Turning quickly and more steadily this time, he slowly arched his feet towards the car, ignoring the faint dripping of wet birth on his shoulders. Black followed a three second interval.  
  
And so it was done.  
  
Seventy eight seconds.  
  
The Green-Eyed Boy walked to the car, no rush. The Girls' used innocent, tender-loving eyes, to pity the lies an Innocent Boy poured upon them. Trowa hopped into the car, signaling for Heero to drive.  
  
Warning. "You have two minutes to two hours." The Circus Clown leaned back next to Cathy, not content, just doing the job he was trained to do. Doing it almost perfectly.  
  
She pushed him, hitting a soft spot, almost breaking a code. "For what?" Cathy's blue eyed reflected rain into his Green, she pricked his hand, slowly but surely. Soft enough to click, hard enough to ask.  
  
All four pilots looked at each other, their eyes shifting steadily, slowly but surely the Code was spoken. The Desert Prince spoke up, quick enough to save and slow enough to reassure. With a smile he looked at everyone, Innocently. "To get there of course."  
  
Dorothy suspected something, so she questioned, only to be shot down. But that would be ignored. "To where?"  
  
"A surprise of course." Sally answered for Wufei, she was a warrior too, and she understood how it worked. Her female friends looked at her, the Boys content and thankful. Most of them held some Understanding.  
  
With the click of a button, and the whisper of a clown, quick reservations were made. Slowly but surely, it was done. Like most everything they had tended too.  
  
Trowa cleared his throat, and then Heero drove.  
  
Quite a while later, Duo was no longer at home.  
  
.  
  
He sat in the same position. So it was true, he was under an influence. Duo Maxwell looked up to the circling light above him, nodding his head. Injections.  
  
They came in, two hour intervals, to inject his poison. His lovely, healing, positive, hell born cure. Each time, he did nothing, but sit there blankly.  
  
They took his blood, more testing. Duo laughed. Street Rat style.  
  
It was going to be messy, but this time he would try to get it right.  
  
.  
  
Don't glare at me boy.  
  
Just because you're broken.  
  
Doesn't mean a thing.  
  
...  
  
1:47 am.  
  
Four Rats sat in a hotel room, discussing and chatting. The Head of the Rats spoke, slowly but surely, he spoke.  
  
"I hacked the hospital Trowa called; he was under the influence of anonymous drugs." He spoke, not surprised but speaking in a calm but mocking manner. Quatre bowed his head.  
  
"So he's a cracker. We can live with that." Trowa stood at the window, looking onward to the hospital that stood at its side. It was only one street away. Easy as pie. Or Cheese.  
  
Wufei leaned on his perch in the very corner, listening and observing, watching, waiting. Slowly but surely this night would come to an end. Quatre sat on his chair, elbows attached to his knees, hands attached to his head. It was a mess, but that wasn't Duo's fault. Political correction. Trowa still stared out the window, hands in his pockets, cell phone placed at the back. Understanding. But Heero, he was a different story.  
  
He sat at the table, clicking and tapping away rabidly, feasting on the information that scrolled quickly across the screen.  
  
"Knowing Duo he would try and escape, it's what he was trained to do." Trowa's breath hung on the window, slowly but surely, it hung. His green eyes stared at the glowing lights of the hospital, ready for Action.  
  
Tap. Tap. Tap.  
  
Quatre looked up from his nest. "That's what all of us would do. But none of us were on drugs at the time either." The Desert Prince sighed; it left a mark in his Sands of Time.  
  
No tap. "How do you figure?" One of the many Rats spoke up; Quatre swam in his river of thought. He didn't hear which tone of voice spoke, it was remote.  
  
He stood up this time, solving a puzzle. "Well, when we were forced to escape from captive situations we were all perfectly sane, acting on our own senses. But Duo isn't acting on his own senses at the moment. So he could do what we don't expect or do what we expect, or not do anything at all." The Desert Prince finished the puzzle, biting down on the clues as he dug, further and further down as he dared.  
  
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.  
  
Trowa clicked to confirm the understanding. "So then, what's the new plan?" His green eyes glanced at Heero's reflection in the glass. Heero did nothing to notice.  
  
"We let Duo make a move." Wufei took a deep, patience breath. Duo was beginning to rake down on his nerves. But that was the point, to break. But he was far from that, Duo was already crumbling.  
  
"If he doesn't make a move?" Quatre began to settle himself on the cough, fluffing the pillows as he pleased, making them just right. Done in a slowly but surely fashion.  
  
Pur. Click. No sip. Tension.  
  
Silence.  
  
"Then we do." Heero stopped from his constant tapping. He took a deep breath, eyeing the left wall, the Girls slept soundly, believing that Duo was okay. Hilarious almost.  
  
The Circus Clown still looked out the window, his murderous eyes staring into the hospital window, unable to find what he was searching for. "When will that be?"  
  
Indigo tapped down on the eyes lightly this time searching and deciding, multitasking. He looked up at Wufei and Trowa, perched, both motionless, Quatre lay listening intently on the couch. "Twenty five hundred."  
  
Code. Each one nodded slowly, in unison, each one lifted their left arm. Checking their watches and setting the alarms. 2:55 am. Deal.  
  
Quatre yawned, flailing his arms upward. He turned over, blinking his eyes rapidly, readying himself to sleep. "Night."  
  
Pur. Click. Tension. There was no laughter, no rum, no Street Rat.  
  
.  
  
The Street Rat sat in his little room, readying himself to rest. He hadn't laughed in two hours; the Rat had learned how to get some Cheese. Silence.  
  
He tilted his head back, smiling. Still suffering from hysteria, his eyes rolling and bouncing off his eyelids; it was time to go to sleep.  
  
Duo Maxwell looked up at the ceiling, Poker-Faced, cocking his head to the right. Giggling inside of him, smiling on the outside with his eyes, the Street Rat laughed out loud.  
  
Eighty three seconds.  
  
He was still stuck.  
  
Five thousand four hundred eighty two seconds.  
  
The Street Rat was sleeping.  
  
Twenty five hundred hours.  
  
It would be their turn to make a move.  
  
==  
  
Author's Note: I'm really loving how this is turning out!! =) =) Please if you read please review! How'd you like this chapter? You know, that usual questions I like to ask. I want to know how the reader (you) enjoyed the monologue and the conversation between the guys and Duo by himself. So you know.. Leave a beep after the message kind of thing. =) Sorry if there happen to be any typos or mistakes, I only read this one five times and didn't really do much of a job editing. So, you know. Merry Christmas again, decided to update WAY early. (DID I GET THE MILITARY TIME RIGHT!?!?!?!) 


	5. May I Take This Dance

Title: Performance, Chapter Four, May I Take This Dance  
  
Summary: Duo has a visitor!!! =) =)  
  
Note: Don't have very many notes right now; think I explained most everything in the last one.. (Right?) Oh yes!! If you don't leave a review please email me on the following things:  
  
How I portrayed the characters. How the plot is forming. How easy it is to follow the plot.  
  
Please, please, please email me on one of the following, I would truly love to hear from you! Well thanks guys! Another thing, you may not like how this story flips out if you were expecting an original character. =) =) =) =) =)  
  
==  
  
"Hey." She had walked in about two minutes ago, they sat in silence. Her brown-mahogany French-braid flowing to the rim of her invisible bra strap, she was only an A cup. Duo didn't look up at her, but he knew that she was wearing her jade earring as always, her bangs tossed messily to the side, a green belt holding up her denim.  
  
"So you're saying I don't get a hello?"  
  
This time he looked up. The Girl wore a light green turtle neck, showing off her hazel green eyes. Her jeans, neatly squeezing at her thighs and legs, making him almost hungry. Her feet covered with two layers, toe socks, black converse, green laces, he guessed that counted as three. Not the flashiest of the famous, but Duo already knew she wasn't flashy, that's how he liked them. Nice and neat.  
  
Behind her, in her right jean pocket she kept two gloves, lilac; a penguin hiding on each pinky, a frog on each thumb. Today, she wore lilac and green, like every other day.  
  
"You do know that I'm considered a stalker right?" He cocked his brow; cobalt blue looked neatly into warm hazel green. She only smiled, neatly wrinkling her medium brown skin and her luscious lips. It was true; she always wore chap-stick. Nice and neat.  
  
The Girl only shrugged. "Who doesn't?" She threw a newspaper on the floor in front of him, revealing a neatly hidden article. NEW STALKER FOR VIOLET SPIEGEL by Rommel Spiegel. "I thought you knew my father was a reporter. He picked this story specifically." She was neatly present, no sign of fame. "He never liked you. you do know that, right??  
  
Duo rolled his eyes, yeah he knew, he always did. The Street Rat skipped the question. "I thought you knew you were famous, it wasn't hard to track you down."  
  
She giggled. "You weren't either." She looked up at the clock on the wall. 2:43 am.  
  
"It's a bit late to visit isn't it?" He looked up from his bangs, brows cocked at every level.  
  
Violet reached into her back pocket, cocking her eyebrows mockingly. "Who said I was visiting?"  
  
Interest, he looked up from his perch. Duo Maxwell wasn't surprised to see her hand wasn't empty; he just wasn't expecting a key, that's all.  
  
2:44 am.  
  
"So I take it that you're here to rescue me?" His wrists began to ache; he had been stuck there for two days already. It was obvious he trusted the clock now.  
  
.  
  
Twenty two seconds to countdown.  
  
Heero signaled to Trowa, Trowa to Quatre. It was time. He looked up towards the ceiling that was his signal. The vent was big enough to fit all three of them, as he pulled himself up Wufei put three guards to sleep. Diversion act.  
  
Quatre pulled up his left arm, whispering into his watch. "Wufei, you have fifteen seconds to put down that bomb."  
  
Wufei ran on the rooftop, Duo's level right below him. But there was only one catch; he was on the West Wing, Duo on the East. "How many yards?"  
  
Sally clicked away at Heero's laptop. She picked up a walkie-talkie, changing signals instinctively. "Wufei. Approx. Twenty two yards."  
  
This time he didn't lift up his left arm, most of them already knew what he would have said. "Shit.." He ran, pushing his limits.  
  
"Ten seconds. Ten. Nine."  
  
"Fifteen yards." Faster. Faster.  
  
"Seven. Six."  
  
"Eleven yards." Sally looked out her window. Tension biting at each of them, poker-faced.  
  
Heero lifted up his left arm, talking into his wrist. "Wufei, throw it."  
  
"Shit."  
  
"Five. Four."  
  
The Boy with Black Hair tumbled, expertly his muscles reacting quickly to Quatre's echoing voice. Tension.  
  
"Three. Two."  
  
He ended his tumbled with a final throw, arching his arms expertly.  
  
"One." Throw. Pur.  
  
As it hit the railing of the rooftop, Wufei slid down the vents towards Duo; the diversion was set.  
  
The alarms went off all in unison, like a choir, a warning. A remote voice echoed through the hallways. "ALL SECURITY REPORT TO THE EAST WING. I REPEAT."  
  
Slowly but surely, in less then a minute, they were in.  
  
She smiled warmly, looking down at the Street Rat below her. "Looks like I picked the wrong time for a conversation." Violet shrugged cutely, looking back at the G-boys, she bowed.  
  
It was almost like they didn't even exist. Duo looked up at her hazel-green eyes, emotion sweeping him off his feet. "So you're leaving? Why so soon?" He could feel tears forming in his eyes, the Gundam Pilot he remembered so long ago coming back to him. He smiled. "Right when I found you?"  
  
She turned back towards him, sitting crumbled with no more chains, sitting crumpled willingly. "Wrong again." His bangs hung low on his face; she pushed them out of her way, squatting in front of him. Duo Maxwell only looked up because she held his chin.  
  
Her voice echoed through the isolated room, hitting every note perfectly from high to low, she was everything at once. The air in that room, the Cheese, the Heroine, the Hero. A different one this time, a change in the story.  
  
Lilac and green forests.  
  
His voice answered back, understandingly, regretting the path he took. Duo wrapped his voice around her own, tearing with her, both singing a song, in the same position, no one moving. There was no kiss.  
  
Summon you back home.  
Summon me back home.  
  
Rejection is your middle name.  
Rejection is my middle name.  
  
Forever stood your statue.  
Forever stood my statue.  
  
But only your statue.  
But only my statue.  
  
Your heart was bound eternally.  
My heart was bound eternally.  
  
To stone.  
To stone.  
  
They stood behind them, silent. Black at his perch, standing. A Circus Clown on his own time, leaning. The Desert Prince smiling. Indigo was wishing that something like this could happen to him.  
  
When they were finished Violet stood, not planting a kiss on his cheek, but one in the forest of his hair. He eyes closed, not even staring at the Cheese that held him, he was crying. She turned around one last time to the Boys, tossing them two keys; one to Duo's room and one to Her heart. Violet bowed a final time and walked out. Crying.  
  
He was wrong one more time, she found him.  
  
.  
  
It seemed timed for the complete minute she stood singing to him and he to her, now the sirens glared. They were going to be chased.  
  
Trowa lifted him up, Quatre on the other end. "We're getting you out of here." They stood him up, knowing he would run, thankfully to where they asked.  
  
"I'm staying." Silence.  
  
Five Rats stared at one Street Rat. A Rat of a Different Color.  
  
"You guys put me here then you try to get me out. If you guys want to give me charity then stay here one more night." Duo looked up from his fallen puddle, he looked at Heero. Bite me Indigo, bite me.  
  
Wufei looked at Trowa then to Indigo, shrugging, then gracefully walked towards the door. "Deal." The Boy with Black Hair stood up, revealing a key, locking the isolated room. He lifted up his left arm.  
  
Trowa spoke instead, with understanding. Wufei put down his arm, he didn't know if he wanted to say anything else. "Sally, blow the walls and vents."  
  
They were blown, screaming from strong voices could be heard, muffled.  
  
Heero looked at Green and Black, cocking a brow in silence. Again, Trowa spoke up, mostly shrugging. "We planted bombs in the walls and vents just in case something like this happened. They won't be able to breach the debris. It just so happens, we planted fifteen bombs. There're five walls they'll have to breach to get here. I doubt they'll have time to do so in a couple hours." He looked around, nodding at Quatre who sighed with a smile. Wufei smirked, awaiting an answer from Heero.  
  
He only shrugged, cocking his head to the left, his eyebrows twisted in a Heero kind of way. "Show-off." Trowa laughed simply, Wufei joined in quietly, the Desert Prince only smiled, ready to go to sleep.  
  
"I figured you'd say something like that." Trowa yawned, finishing his good laugh.  
  
Quatre lay down in a pile, sighing and yawning. "What time do we leave?"  
  
3:10 am.  
  
Heero sighed, looking at his watch. "Two hundred."  
  
"Deal."  
  
.  
  
Duo stood up at 4:55 am. He figured he'd give them a little surprise. Before opening the vent, he ran to Trowa's side, Stealth Mode. Taking the Circus Clown's gun, but no rose lay inside this one.  
  
.  
  
5:10 am.  
  
Quatre tossed in his sleep, he awoke to four beeping alarms. The Desert Prince squinted his eyes and looked up at the rest. "Hey guys."  
  
Utter silence, no one spoke.  
  
"What's wrong?" He looked at Trowa, Trowa towards the ceiling.  
  
Wufei was uninterested instead he shrugged, almost laughing. It was something that Duo would naturally do. "Shit." It was almost a question. He smirked, looking across the way.  
  
==  
  
Author's Note: I have about two more chapters and it's over folks. I'm thinking of extending it with like, how everyone's life goes after this.. kind of thing. =) So stay tuned! How'd you like? Please tell!! 


	6. Thanks For the Dance

Title: Performance, Chapter Five, Thanks For the Dance  
  
MUST READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ^&@$%!!!  
  
Summary: Hell, I'll tell you when I'm finished writing!!! =) I GOT SALLY'S AGE WRONG! I CHECKED THE MANUAL AND SHES ACTUALLY 22!!! SO I'LL CHANGE THE FIRST CHAPTER LATER, BUT I ALREADY MADE THE CHANGE IN THIS ONE! ***  
  
==  
  
The Rats walked into the room, yawning and stretching their arms. Heero walked towards his room, ready to hack, search. The Desert Prince walked towards the couch, ready to sit, plan. Trowa and Wufei walked in last, ready to act.  
  
The Circus Clown walked towards the window, viewing the hospital across the way.  
  
"What's with the long faces? You act like someone's died." The Street Rat appeared from within the shadows, smirking, his usual clothes on.  
  
==  
  
Duo's apartment.  
  
8:45 am.  
  
They had stayed another night, to see him fit. The Rats were at their usual stations, Black, Indigo, Desert Prince, Circus Clown and Street Rat.  
  
"You think he's still sleeping?" Trowa was the third to get up, Quatre was always last. He looked towards Duo's room, snoring could be heard.  
  
The Desert Prince rolled up and yawned after hearing the Circus Clown's voice. Indigo and Black always woke up around the same time and they usually sat in silence. A simple click of Trowa's tongue was his alarm clock. "I would think so, after all the excitement last night." He stretched and yawned, sitting up.  
  
Tap. Tap. Tap. No tap.  
  
Heero stopped clicking away at his laptop, taking Quatre's movement as a signal. "Are we going through with your plan?" Indigo looked up at Black who shrugged.  
  
Platinum Gold looked over at Heero and nodded.  
  
9:02 am.  
  
Trowa and Wufei slung the garbage bags over their shoulders, all of Duo's most prized possessions clung to their backs; suppressed in a layer of the thinnest black plastic.  
  
The Desert Prince stood in the doorway eyeing the neatly dressed room. There was no more liquor, no more pictures, and no more music. Instead, a new laptop lay traced where the pictures were beaten and harassed days ago, green tea could be spotted from every angle, replacing every shot-glass and bottle. Besides the presents that lay around the 'house', the priceless one lay over the fireplace.  
  
Quatre looked over at Heero and threw him a wrapped object and a pen. Indigo and Greenish-Blue nodded, this time Quatre made his way out the door first, followed by a Circus Clown and a Boy with Black Hair.  
  
Heero already knew what he was supposed write on the present.  
  
==  
  
Noon.  
  
Duo turned over in sleep. He woke up, looking towards his ceiling today. The Street Rat groaned as Quatre, Heero, Wufei and Trowa appeared next to him. "Damnit."  
  
Before picking up the laptop, Duo eyed the room, expecting Trowa or Heero to pop up out of nowhere. This time, he picked it up, yawning and reading the few letters that were inscribed within the picture. He read them out loud to make them aware he was awake. "Don't even try it, we already left. Your presents are in the living room."  
  
The Reborn Man laughed, shrugging; now noticing that no pictures slept in his room. "Thanks for the charity guys." He jumped out of bed, making his way to the living room.  
  
"This just ain't my apartment anymore." Duo smiled and stretched, eyeing the green tea on the table. "Well.. What the hell.." In a there's-nothing- to-lose-kind-of-way.  
  
He sipped, contently, the flavor running down his throat to the pit of his stomach, where the happiness hit him most. "At least Quatre flavored it." Duo turned around to turn on his music, he paused before clicking the play button; wondering what was in store for him this time.  
  
His own voice filled the room, it was raw, no music was hidden behind the voices.  
  
()()()  
  
So where you headed to after this?  
  
Headed back home.  
  
What about the girls?  
  
Doesn't sound like something you'd say.  
  
Not half of us.  
  
You're right. Most of us.. Quatre you sipping something over there?....  
  
Green Tea.  
  
Hah.. Figures.  
  
There's still Relena.  
  
Sally.  
  
Cathy.  
  
Dorothy.  
  
Would you really date her?  
  
Matters how drunk he is. If he was in Japan with lots of sake. Probably.  
  
Either way. What about you Duo?  
  
Cheers to that.  
  
What about me?  
  
Hilde.  
  
What about her?  
  
You two didn't hit it off?  
  
What was there to hit? What about Relena?  
  
What about her? Hell, what about Dorothy?  
  
Blonde Hair. Sally's age?  
  
22. Trowa. ***  
  
Blue eyes. Hilde.  
  
Not Hilde. She's a childhood friend. Someone else. Haven't found her yet.  
  
What about...?  
  
What about it? Hey Wufei, I thought she was our age.  
  
You and everyone else.  
  
Relena doesn't look our age either.  
  
That's only because of her bangs.  
  
Thanks for scanning.  
  
Who said I was scanning?  
  
Well.. If you know she looks better with bangs.  
  
See! He knows too!  
  
Sorry.  
  
Whatever.  
  
Dorothy. Eyebrows.  
  
Hahahahaha.  
  
It's how she likes them.  
  
But come-on Q-man, don't you think she'd look a wee bit hotter without?  
  
Duo.  
  
Yeah yeah, fine fine.  
  
Stop scanning.  
  
Yeah, how would you feel if we scanned Hilde?  
  
I would've cared a long time ago.  
  
Sure.  
  
Uh-huh.  
  
She's already scanned by everyone anyways.  
  
Huh?  
  
Nothing. Yo Trowa.  
  
Hmm?  
  
You leaving?  
  
Mm-mm.  
  
Later then. Later Heavyarms.  
  
Well everyone, it's been nice working with you.  
  
I bet.  
  
See you guys around.  
  
Don't go killing yourself now.  
  
What about that self detonation button?  
  
Will do. Later Duo.  
  
See ya around kid.  
  
Don't bet on it.  
  
Don't worry, I won't.  
  
.  
  
We thought you'd like that; we had to borrow Deathscythe though. Hope you don't mind. We left something on the counter. Over and out.  
  
()()()  
  
Duo laughed, eyeing the counter this time, a package lay wrapped in newspaper. He picked it up, reading the red marker stains. "Damn Heero, you can't write for shit.."  
  
But he read anyways, before opening the present.  
  
{We thought you'd like this one, hope you like. Shout if you do.}  
  
{Don't glare at me boy. Just because you're broken. Doesn't mean a thing.}  
  
There was a different scribbled this time, a girl's writing.  
  
{There's room for one more in the van.}  
  
The Street Rat ripped open the present to find a picture, framed, unbroken. He smiled and stood it up on his counter.  
  
{Shout if you do.}  
  
They sat in the van waiting for a signal, the Girls napping peacefully in the back. Quatre looked at Heero, he sat behind him.  
  
"Do you really?..." The Desert Prince was stopped as Trowa held up his hand.  
  
"Shhhh."  
  
Duo chuckled, looking outside his window to the van below. He ripped out a shout, no words, just pure thanks.  
  
This time, all the Rats acted on the same account, each one smiling in their own way. There was just one difference this time, the Street Rat held a collage. The very edges held pictures of the G-boys together; each one standing with his Gundam, Hilde and Duo back in the day; but in the very middle there was a picture of him singing, in an isolated room.  
  
Quatre rolled down his window and yelled at the Boy In the Window. "Well?"  
  
The Boy looked down at him, smirking. He broke out with a final yell. "Didn't we already settle this? It was nice working with you guys and I'll see you boys around."  
  
Trowa rolled down his window sitting across from the driver; he arched his back over the van looking up at Duo. "That was my line you know?"  
  
"Yeah, I know! I know." He looked down at them, half smiling, half knowing. "I'll see you guys around." Duo said in a softer tone this time, his eyes resting.  
  
"Don't bet on it." Indigo rolled down his window, Wufei already stood in the same position as Trowa, across from Quatre. He was nodding. Say your line right Duo, say it right.  
  
"Don't worry, I will." And he did, along with the Others.  
  
==  
  
IMPORTANT: THE THING ABOUT BORROWING THE DEATHSCYTHE!! THE GUNDAMS HAVE RECORDING PROGRAMS (NOW THEY DO..) SO THAT'S HOW THEY GOT THE RECORDING IF YOU'RE WONDERING.  
  
A/N: Hey guys! IT'S OVER!! Hahaha. Don't worry, they'll be an epilogue. (As if you'd worry.. haha.) But do tell! How'd you like? PLEASE RATE ME TEN OUT OF TEN!!! One being worst, Ten being best.. you know? I'll try and make you rate the Epilogue as a separate story.. Kind of because it is.. =) =)  
  
FINAL: SORRY FOR ALL MY STUPID TYPOS!! 


	7. Back On the Dance Floor

Title: Performance, Epilogue, Back On the Dance Floor  
  
Summary: Well what can I say, this will be a reader-finishes-it-their-way type ending. =) =)  
  
==  
  
Three years after the Thanks.  
  
We cordially invite you to the wedding of .  
  
Quatre Raberba Winner  
.and.  
Dorothy Catalonia  
  
As our faithful friends and family we would deeply  
appreciate it if you joined us on this special day.  
  
As our Best Man and Maid of Honor.  
Trowa Barton and Relena Peacecraft  
  
As our Groomsmen and Bride's Maids.  
Heero Yuy and Cathy Bloom  
Chang Wufei and Sally Po  
  
Duo Maxwell will be singing as our Bride walks down the aisle.  
  
==  
  
"So who'd you invite?" Relena sat behind Dorothy, calmly brushing her hair.  
  
Quatre had shared the Duo/Switch-of-Heart story with Dorothy and Relena shortly before the wedding; he needed to make sure that nothing would break out.  
  
.  
  
"Although, we wanted to give Duo a little surprise, I'm afraid we came to a final conclusion. Even though we've all drifted since their break-up we're only going to invite Hilde. Alright?"  
  
Dorothy nodded, her fingers twisted and crossed behind her back. "Right."  
  
.  
  
It would be set; Hilde would be invited because of her relationship with the girls.  
  
"Whatever do you mean Relena? You know perfectly well that I would only act on Duo's behalf." Dorothy neatly placed her last strand in the perfect place; she stood up, not looking back at Relena's shocked though professional face.  
  
"Relena. who do you think I invited?" She looked back at Relena's shimmering lilac dress. Dorothy cocked her brow awaiting an answer from Relena.  
  
As Cathy and Sally walked in, matching strapless dresses with a lilac finish, Relena answered, almost biting back. "The person who would be best on Duo's behalf."  
  
Dorothy looked at all the girls aligned in front of her one last time before finishing off her conversation with Relena. "That is exactly who I invited."  
  
==  
  
"Heero, I apologize about matching you up with Cathy. Dorothy and I made a deal that she'd pick the Female Party I'd pick the Male Party. It just so happened to work out that way." Quatre looked at the boy standing behind him through the mirror, both of them making final adjustments to their suits.  
  
Heero looked at him, Indigo plainly staring at Greenish-Blue, there was no bite. "Don't worry about it." Quatre smiled and looked at his surroundings.  
  
The Maxwell Church stood around him, rebuilt and remade to perfection, real sunlight drifting through the stained glass.  
  
Dorothy now sat in the room across the hall, the thought made him feel better. The Main Aisle stood in the very middle of the two rooms; it would be swept by Dorothy's dress in less than ten minutes. He smiled as Trowa and Wufei walked in.  
  
The Circus Clown stood without a mask today, turning the Desert Prince around to face him. "Where's Duo?"  
  
Black laughed, looking at his watch. "Late."  
  
Trowa raised an eyebrow, mocking the Boy with Black Hair. "And I take it that only the weak are late?"  
  
The Desert Prince laughed and looked over at Wufei, who smiled peacefully, laughing inside. "He should be picking up Hilde."  
  
"Dorothy did invite Hilde right?" Heero was sitting on the Lounge Couch now, next to Wufei, relaxing.  
  
Quatre and Trowa glanced at each other, the Desert Prince answering first. "According to the plan."  
  
The Best Man walked up to the Groom, it was his job today, to take it off the Prince's shoulders, and so that's what he did. "And I'm sure she did." He looked over at Indigo and nodded, it was time to do some research.  
  
==  
  
"Duo did you pick up Hilde?" Heero walked up to meet him at the front of the church.  
  
The Reborn Man stood in the doorway of the Church, taking a deep breath, breathing in the familiar air. "Nothing like a fresh sniff of home. or a replica on earth anyways. Love it anyways."  
  
"Duo." Heero stood in front of him now, a serious look on his face.  
  
The Reborn Man rose his eyebrows, shrugging. "Naw. She said she'd get here herself."  
  
==  
  
2:34 pm.  
  
Hilde tore through her closet looking for the perfect color. At last she picked the perfect color, black and strapless, shimmering with rhinestones. She smiled as she put it on, ready to pucker up her lips to Luscious Red.  
  
As she walked into the bathroom, she messily tossed her bangs to the side with the tightest hold of gel possible.  
  
==  
  
3:54 pm.  
  
"Mezis. Speagule but et's shirty minuts avay! You 'ave shirty minuts tou get dressed! 'Et is absolutelay emposse'bell!! No vone a'live could make zhis tyme!" Gaston wildly flailed his arms in panic.  
  
Violet stood restless in her closest picking out the best color and most beautiful shape to fit her body. "Well then Gaston, you're lucky you're talking to Violet Spiegel then huh?"  
  
She turned around picking her selection, as he bowed and apologized.  
  
"Si si si, Mezis. Speagule.." He stood back up, pulling up a cell phone and a palm-pilot. For the time being he picked at a hangnail in disgust.  
  
She viewed the selection on paper and turned to him, smiling and clasping her hands cutely. Violet took a deep breath and pointed to her selection. "I want the Black Strapless and the Luscious Red."  
  
Pat. He clicked delicately away at his screen; he threw up his arms, again. "But Mezis. Speagule ve ahre all owt."  
  
Violet signed, she threw up her arms this time. The flash stepped in. She wanted fast, so she would get fast. Gritting her teeth, she smiled, looking up to Gaston, questioning. "Gaston, who are you talking to?" Tension.  
  
The Gay Man panicked, but she couldn't complain, about the gaiety. Her Personal Assistant answered behind a palm-pilot. "Ai.. Ai Ai'm tahking tou ze most faymoss Violey Speagule." He bowed another thing, lower.  
  
The tension was lifted, she asked another question. "Thank you Gaston. Now.. What were you saying?"  
  
He stood up straighter this time, watching his every move, enunciating his every syllable correctly, or so he thought. "Ai Ai'm zaying Bulack Straplayuss aind ze Luhsheous Vered. For ze Mezises 'air?"  
  
She sighed anyway. "I want a bun and my bangs to the side." Violet sat back down on her chair, looking into the vanity mirror.  
  
"Si si, vill do, vill do." He bowed, clicking away at his cell phone in a rush.  
  
==  
  
5:30 pm, Women's Restrooms, Wingel Hotel.  
  
"Excuse me but is that Luscious Red?" Violet stepped out of her bathroom stall next to a girl with a Rhine-stoned dress and heels.  
  
The girl looked up and smiled. "Yeah, it is. I just love the color, would you like to use?"  
  
"I would love to, if you don't mind." As Violet finished putting on the lipstick she turned around and thanked her, but to her surprise she had already gone.  
  
She walked out of the bathrooms, looking up the stairs to her right and the stairs to her left, the entrance in between. The Bit-More-Flashy took the left staircase, a shorter way: a two minute walk in heels, than the right: a two and a half minute walk in heels.  
  
Hilde had taken the right staircase, eager to see Duo, she left the Bathrooms about forty seconds ago.  
  
==  
  
5:35 pm, Reception, Wingel Hotel.  
  
And so it ended like that, five hours ago, Quatre and Dorothy pleaded their "I-Do's" to the Lord, as Duo sang the same song that he sang now, while they took their first dance.  
  
Lilac and green forests  
  
Summon you back home.  
  
Rejection is your middle name.  
  
Forever stood your statue.  
  
But only your statue.  
  
Your heart was bound eternally.  
  
To stone.  
  
As he finished, Trowa walked up the stage and made an announcement. "And let's pray that never happens to Quatre and Dorothy." An appreciative laugh could be heard throughout the audience. He continued.  
  
"I would just like to say.."  
  
Duo walked over to Wufei, resting his voice. "Hey, you know those two stairways? Which one leads where?" He leaned back on the wall, the same as Wufei.  
  
Black held up his champagne glass and took a sip, as the crowd erupted in cheers, clinks of crystal could be heard throughout the room. Duo looked at him before he could answer. "Cheers." Clink. Nod.  
  
"I think the right leads behind the Head Table and the Left to the entrance. Wouldn't know, I took the Elevator."  
  
"There was an Elevator?"  
  
Wufei nodded while Duo shrugged.  
  
"Wouldn't know, I used the Escalator." Cobalt Blue looked into a sea of dark.  
  
Clink. Wufei took a sip as Heero finished his little speech, ending in more Clinks. He looked up at Duo, they had played this game before. "There was an Escalator?"  
  
.  
  
Violet walked up the stairs, faster than she usually would have, almost tripping. "Whoa." She paused to regain herself, looking up as she rested. "Hey look.. An Escalator.. Perfect." Violet shrugged and walked up, slower this time.  
  
Hilde rushed into the Elevator panting, she held her stomach and spoke three words. "Level 4 please."  
  
.  
  
Heero sat back down and turned around to Relena. "Did she invite Hilde?"  
  
Relena looked back at him and smiled softly, she rested her head on his shoulder and nodded softly.  
  
The Desert Prince sat at the top of the head table, next to his wife. He turned her around then spoke. "So who'd you invite?"  
  
Dorothy laughed. "When are you going to trust me?" She sighed and rolled her eyes, she was unprofessional tonight, enjoying her time. With a final giggled she answered. "Both."  
  
This time the Desert Prince took his Queen by the hands. "Dorothy, both who?"  
  
Giggle. "Both of them of course."  
  
Greenish-Blue to Purple, pleading. "Both of them who?"  
  
"Both." She smiled sweetly then turned around to a pair of Luscious Red lips.  
  
And then it happened without the slightest hit of Tension, Sips, Clicks or Purs; Duo turned to the Hall Entrance to see the most beautiful woman with Luscious Red Lips he had ever seen.  
  
==  
  
A/N: Ugh, this stupid Epilogue took me from 11 at night to 3 in the morning! Haha, and I'll tell you, I think I did a pretty job confusing you! Ugh, pain in the patella. Oh well, who cares! It's finished! =) Doesn't matter, I really liked the way it turned out. so I'll probably be writing another one. =) But hey, for the time being, pick a few hangnails, read some more, leave a few reviews.. Ya know? =) Thanks for reading! 


	8. Appendix How They Danced

Three years after GW (Not Endless Waltz) Duo is 18. He has gone back to the place he calls home and stalks his first love, who became famous after he left her. His past haunts him because she rejected his proposal before he left for the war, ever since she's almost been the only thing on his mind. Until Hilde came along and he broke her heart.. (That was foreshadowing..) In the prologue Duo goes to one of Violet's concerts, in short he's pretty much a stalker. After the concert he goes home and gets drunk. In Chapter one Duo reminisces about the bet he made with Heero. He soon becomes bitter because he expects Heero to be there for him as his best friend would do. In Chapter two the G-boys are in town with their girlfriends (including Hilde) on a visit. Hilde calls Duo and asks him what he wants to do, knowing the conversation is going no where they decide they will meet at Duo's apartment. At this time Duo is drunk, having fantasies and what not about his glorious women of the past. He passes out until Quatre tries to wake him. At first, Heero believes that Duo's on drugs because he is so drunk, in the end they find out he's just become a stalker. With that Heero takes it upon himself to question Duo, who makes them leave. After they leave, Duo gets drunk again, passing out. In Chapter three as the G-boys are leaving Duo's apartment they decide to call the nearest hospital to check up on Duo, aka they reported him to the authorities. After hacking the hospital's computer and becoming aware of the growing situation Heero and the others decide to get him out of the hospital. They pick a hotel right across the hospital to make the mission a bit easier. Heero picks the next night to retrieve Duo. Little do they know that Violet has chosen this exact night.  
  
During Chapter four Duo and Violet interact, possibly remembering the past. As Violet takes out a key to release Duo the G-boys act. When the G-boys walk in, at first nothing happens until Violet decides it is time for her to leave. After she leaves, Duo insists they stay the night. He still wants time to think. While Trowa and Wufei ensure that no one has the ability to capture them, Duo pretends he is about to fall asleep. Before the night is over, Duo escapes.  
  
In Chapter five the G-boys find Duo across the street within their hotel. They take him back to his apartment where he sleeps until Noon. As he is sleeping, the G-boys decide to leave him a few gifts, they offer for him to travel with him. He rejects them kindly, only for all of them to be reunited at Quatre and Dorothy's wedding three years later.  
  
Within the Prologue the weddings takes place, Hilde does not become part of the wedding party because Duo is needed to sing as Quatre and Dorothy walk down the aisle. During the three years, Duo has had the ability to talk to both Hilde and Violet creating some mixed ties. Quatre makes it clear to Dorothy that Hilde will be invited because of her importance to their little group of friends, but Dorothy decides she wants to cause mischief one last time before she gets married. Both Violet and Hilde end up missing the wedding due to waking up late and getting dressed, both of them pick out the same styled dress and the same color lipstick; because they know that Duo will love it. I had added some extra things to confuse the reader so they could make their own ending. For there on out, I'm sure you can understand the ending. If anyone wants to know who the mystery chick is. then go with the flow. =) =) I haven't even decided who the mystery chick was. Hope you guys liked the story! =) =)  
  
(More of the Appendix on Performance will be coming shortly.) 


End file.
